Nabata
by Sardonic Kender Smile
Summary: The heat is taking its toll on you," Eliwood noted suddenly, gently--worriedly. "If you please, take my arm." They say that nothing grows in the Nabata Desert...but there was certainly SOMETHING blooming, on that day. EliwoodxNinian


_A/N: Yay, oneshots! If you want to know a secret, actually…back in the day, I despised oneshots. I thought it was just laziness, to write something down with no real plot in mind (er, maybe people who write chapters more than thirty pages long are biased or something?)…but then I actually came across some GOOD oneshots, ones which didn't really NEED plots to be deep or funny or beautiful (or fluffy, too, which I've grown to love). That's when I realized…it's not a mark of laziness to write something short…it's an exercise. It's an art form. It's a test to see how one can fit emotion into just a few words, just a moment. So now I don't have problems with oneshots anymore. _

_ANYWAY, now that story-time's over…here I bring you a ficlet about Ninian and Eliwood. Again. This one is about what's going on in the Nabata Desert right before the battle…I use some of the game dialogue (the stuff between Hector and Nils and Eliwood and Ninian), but obviously I made up everything in between. Also—the tactician of my playthrough, Della, is in this one. But I'll get to the reason why in the author's note. _

_Well, I hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

_**Nabata**_

_Nabata._

The word was a harsh one, and it fit this place well. Life itself seemed impossible in such a place…a wasteland, a desert of scorched sand and blurry heat and an _unbearably _high temperature. Nothing here stirred, nothing but the warm wind and the small army pushing determinedly deeper into the vast danger that was Nabata.

The air scalded my throat as I breathed it in, and I tried hard to keep my head from drooping. I couldn't show any weakness—everyone else was managing to keep from collapsing, and if I looked any weaker…well, would they not be suspicious if they noticed my utter inability to handle this terrible place? Nils and I were _ice _dragons…and the desert atmosphere was cruel.

I winced and pressed my fingers to my bare shoulder. The skin felt hot beneath my hand, and when I removed it, prints as white as the moon lingered for a long moment before fading back to that angry red. I silently cursed my pale skin, always an easy target for the unforgiving sun.

"Milady," I heard a voice say, "You really should find a way to shade your face…you wouldn't want to burn."

I looked over my shoulder to find Kent speaking to Lyn from his horse, one hand half-reaching down towards her pleadingly. The emerald-haired woman just laughed and batted his hand away.

"You're a fine one to talk, Kent…you look like a tomato already!"

The knight flushed deeply, and I had to press my lips together to keep from laughing at the outrageously bright shade his face had turned as his blush combined with his burn.

Sir Sain, sporting only a bit of sun across the bridge of his nose, apparently did not have my self-control…he nearly fell from his steed in laughter as he rode alongside Kent and Lyn. "A tomato! Excellently said, my lady! Haha…Kent…Kent's a vegetable!"

"S-stop that!" snapped Kent. "There are enemies in this desert…we have no time to be jesting!"

Sain rolled his eyes disgustedly. "Well, it's your own fault for being born a redhead…"

"And not an Italian," the tactician finished, falling into step beside Lyn. Sain rubbed his nose and scowled down at the tactician, who seemed quite devoid of any sunburn, and even gentle Kent managed to send a glare in her direction.

"Radiant Della, although it is true that even the glorious sun cannot bring itself to mar your unmatched beauty with a flush of pain, it still isn't nice to—"

"Oh, shut up, Sain," Della retorted wearily. "My complexion dominates yours; it's just a fact of life. And, for the record…tomatoes are _fruits." _

"No!" gasped the green knight in disbelief.

I giggled to myself and shook my head, facing forwards to keep concentrating on the long, hot march.

"What's so funny?" a new voice sounded by my side. I turned quickly to find Lord Eliwood—who must have approached when I was busy listening to the banter between Sain and Della. His smile was warm, and the light of it reached up to shine out through his blue eyes as he told me, "I don't often hear you laugh, Ninian."

"The four of them, my lord…" I explained shyly, looking back to Lady Lyn and the others. "They were just arguing about fruits and vegetables…and sunburns…it was all so silly."

Eliwood glanced back at them all and chuckled. "We _are _quite a silly group, aren't we? Who else would go marching through a desert in search of a man who is hundreds of years old and may not even exist any more?"

"Even the sunburn will be worth it if we can find him," I mumbled, once more touching my stinging shoulder.

Eliwood's brilliant eyes filled suddenly with concern. "You've been burned?"

"…A little bit," I admitted. It took a lot of courage to raise my eyes and meet his, but when I finally did I could see that the sun had blazed its way across his features, as well. "It seems that you have too, my lord."

The young noble smiled wryly—with his light skin and bright hair, I was sure that the sun was unkind to him often. His eyes flickered to his tactician as he muttered, "Not all of us can be so lucky, I suppose…"

"Sain!" griped Della from her position behind us, "You are _so _slow!"

"It's not my fault!" the green knight protested. "All this sand is slowing my horse down!" He looked to his horse, then to Kent's…and his face suddenly contorted into a sour scowl. "Hey—why are you not yelling at Kent, as well?"

"I like Kent," said the tactician with a shrug. She put a finger to her chin in thought. "But…I suppose he's just as much of a liability. So both of you need to fall back."

The knights complied—Kent with a polite nod and Sain with a dramatically mournful look towards Della—and the tactician ordered Lord Hector to come up beside Lyn.

A small chill crept down my spine—although I didn't sense any danger approaching, I knew that Della only moved people around in the ranks if there was a battle eminent. I looked towards Nils, who was walking abreast of Eliwood and I several yards away, to see if he could sense anything…but the poor boy couldn't seem to feel anything but the oppressive heat as he struggled along in the sand.

"So hot…" he gasped, "I'm…going to die."

I instantly moved to go to my brother—but Lord Hector was faster, darting from Lyn's side to reach Nils and ask him, "Hey, do you want me to carry you on my back?"

Nils looked at Hector as if he had just sprouted two heads. "...Huh?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" growled the lord of Ostia.

"Such kindness from you surprised me, Lord Hector," Nils answered hesitantly, with a child's typical bluntness. He looked up in confusion to the sun-bleached sky. "Is this some fever dream?"

A laugh burst from Lyn's mouth as she caught up to the two, Eliwood quickly raised his hand to cover a smile, and Hector bristled.

"What's _that _supposed to mean?" He folded his arms defensively as he continued to walk beside my brother. "I was concerned that you might collapse again, like the other day."

"You're usually so brusque," Lyn told Hector, as if chastising him. "It's no wonder he's confused." Then, turning to my brother, she encouraged, "Don't be shy, Nils. Let him help you out."

Nils gave Hector another wary glance. "…But…"

"Do as you're told, boy!" Hector roared, snatching up my brother and seating him upon his broad shoulders.

"I'm going to fall!" cried Nils, lurching as he and Hector tried to find balance as a single unit. "_I'm going to fall!" _

No matter how Nils felt, I knew that he was safe with Hector and Lyndis. They were so very kind to him…no matter how he looked, no matter how strange his talents were…it was, in fact, ridiculous. The three of them were absolutely ridiculous. Another giggle escaped me.

"Laughing again?" Eliwood asked in surprise. He grinned as I looked up at him. "I simply can't believe it."

"Is it so strange to hear me laugh?" I queried shyly, a tad confused.

"It is rather rare," the lord admitted. He was quiet for a moment, thinking, and then ventured, "Ninian, does your laugh have rejuvenating powers, as well?"

'A tad confused' turned into 'completely baffled' in the span of two seconds. "N-no, my lord…why do you ask?"

"Oh!" Eliwood quickly turned his face away—but I could see that his ears had reddened. Was that the sun's fault…or was he flushing? "Er…no reason…"

"My dance is all I can do," I informed him softly.

"All?" he asked, turning back to face me with a bit of a laugh. "Ninian, your dances are miraculous. You can't imagine how much you've helped this army."

_Me? Helped? _I was struck dumb by his words. A glowing happiness began to bubble within me, rivaling the power of even the sun…

Oooh, that sun. It was giving me a nasty headache. My strength was already so drained…how could I help anyone in the army if I was the only one to feel so sick?

"I doubt that I can even dance, in this heat…" I murmured sadly. "I wouldn't do much good…"

"Oh, don't say that!" exclaimed Eliwood. "Why, the other day, I was just about ready to collapse from exhaustion, but you danced for me and I suddenly felt as if I could keep fighting forever. Your dances are lovely, Ninian…I must admit, I'm quite eager to see another."

I shivered even in the sun to hear him speak…was he aware of how his voice had lowered for his last few words? How unintentionally but utterly _seductive _he had sounded? I quickly wiped my mind of such thoughts—they weren't right to think. Eliwood was a noble, a _human_, and I was…

I was very, very hot.

The world was swimming a little bit in my vision…or was that just the haze of heat pulsing up from the blistering sand? Another haze, white instead of shimmering, pushed at the very edges of my sight. I struggled to keep it from spreading inwards.

"The heat is taking its toll on you," Eliwood noted suddenly, gently—worriedly. "If you please, take my arm."

He offered me his arm, holding it out in a gentlemanly fashion. I was instantly mortified.

_D-did he really notice how weak I feel?! Oh, how pathetic he must think me!_

Desperate to stay somewhat respectable in his eyes, I murmured "I couldn't…"

"Oh, come now," Eliwood insisted. His elbow was still there, his clear sapphire eyes were looking down at me, eager to aid…

"Very well," I whispered, slipping my hand into the crook of his arm. I could feel my face redden—and from more than sunburn. "Forgive me…"

"Is something wrong?" he asked me.

"It's strange," I mumbled in reply. _Why are you so kind to me? Why don't you hate me, hurt me, for lying to you? Don't you know? Don't you care?_

"What is?" That was the problem—of _course _he cared. He cared about everyone. He cared too much.

"All of you treat my brother and I so…normally," I admitted. "Doesn't it bother you? Our powers…our looks…we're _different _from—" I almost said "humans", but stopped myself, and instead stumbled over an impromptu ending: "—people."

"Has that been bothering you?" Eliwood asked, a faint but distinct tinge of incredulity in his voice. "What's wrong with being a bit different from other people?"

As if to illustrate his point, the laughing group of Lord Hector, Della, Nils, and Lady Lyn passed by behind him—Nils swaying precariously on Hector's shoulders, Lyn poking fun at the bigger lord, and Della muttering something about "supports" and "terrain disadvantages" and "if I lose this flippin' level one more flippin' time…".

"When I look at you," Eliwood told me, "I don't see 'other people'. I see Ninian. I see a normal, kindhearted girl."

_Normal! _The word beat down upon my skin, more searing than the sun. It couldn't be real. He couldn't be sincere. He was only trying to make me feel better, for _he _was the kindhearted one…

"Do you speak truly?" I asked him softly.

His sensual lips lifted in a fervent smile as he nodded; his gaze was honest as it met mine. I could not help but to believe him…that smile was making it hard for me to breathe…or was that because it felt like sunlight was covering me in layers of heat, crushing me until I could not take in air…?

"Lord Eliwood…" I whispered—and in that moment, everything changed. For in that moment, he wasn't a _human_…he was just Eliwood, compassionate and handsome and good…

And I had never felt my heart ache so badly.

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, and his warm hand moved to cover mine…but he quickly released me as soon as he felt my skin.

"Ninian!" he gasped, and I instantly feared that I had done something wrong—why else would he have wrenched his arm from my grasp?

Yet Eliwood moved closer to me, his blue eyes flooded with concern, taking one of my hands in his own and touching my face with the other. "Ninian, you've gone all clammy!"

"No, no," I tried to protest, getting a bit dizzy from the sensation of his hands upon me. "It's just…my skin is always cold…"

"It shouldn't be _this _cold, not in this heat," said Eliwood with a worried frown. I looked up at him guiltily, wanting to explain that I wasn't sick…but how in the world could I possibly tell him I was an _ice _dragon? I could either let him worry for me…or let him know the truth, and cause him to hate me. The decision made my stomach twist and my head spin. Little dots swam before my eyes.

"My…my lord, I…" It was so hard to speak, so hard to concentrate, so hard to stay…awake…

"Hey—Ninian? H-hey! Look at me…I'm right here, can you--? Ninian!"

"Is something the matter?" a voice asked…Lyn's voice. Eliwood looked back to her quickly.

"Lyn, hurry, I think Ninian is—"

_No…_His hands were still on me, his thumb skimming unconsciously across my jaw. _No, so dizzy…_His body drew closer, protectively, and I felt my heartbeat quicken. _Please, I'm not allowed to want you this badly…_So, so dizzy, head throbbing, heart racing, dizzy, gasping for air, vision blurring, dizzy, ears ringing, butterflies in stomach—no, stomach just churning, nauseous, dizzy…

Whiteness.

I remember the sensation of falling, but not the sensation of hitting the ground. I was just floating, spiraling onwards, faster and faster in the oppressive heat. I couldn't breathe…I couldn't see…my eyes would flutter open but they would not focus, my heavy eyelids would not support themselves…

"Ninian!" a voice called, sounding very far away. A hand was urgently patting my face. "Ninian, wake up!"

"Eliwood, you need to hit her _harder_!"

"I shan't strike a woman!" the first voice cried angrily. It should have been loud, but the speakers sounded like they were calling me from under a great amount of water…

_Smack!_

Something hit my cheek—quite forcefully—and my eyes flew open against the stinging pain. Once my blurry vision cleared, I could make out Lyn's deep green eyes—apologetic but determined. Eliwood's sapphire ones appeared beside them, filled with nothing but worry.

"Sorry…" I tried to gasp, but no sound escaped my cracked lips. They just moved, very slightly, desperate to form words that turned out to be invisible, like a caught fish gaping in a silent scream…

"We need to get you to a healer," said Eliwood at once. He slid one hand beneath my knees—his other arm was already around my shoulders, perhaps the reason that I didn't feel like I had hit the ground--and he lifted me up. With Lyn at his side, he began striding across the golden sands in an attempt to find Serra. My head was nestled against his shoulder, protected from his hot metal armor by the folds of his blue cape. I could smell him, up this close—his scent was something foreign, almost spicy, and mingled with the smell of his sweat. It was…_intoxicating_, being so close to him…

"Ah, I see her," Lyn said, breaking me out of my thoughts, as she pointed towards a distant dune—and the unmistakably pink head of Serra, glowing like a sunset in the burning light. I was so touched by what my friends were doing…wasting their own time to help _me_. I felt so unworthy.

"I…I'll be alright now," I said, trying to struggle in Eliwood's arms and only managing a weak kick. "I can…you don't have to…"

"Shhh," Eliwood whispered gently. "Don't worry. You're no burden." He kept his gaze on me, soft and kind, as he continued to fight through the scorching heat of the desert. For my sake.

"B-but…" I weakly protested, "You've helped me so many times already…I don't want you to…"

I trailed off, ashamed of my predicament, and Eliwood cocked his head in confusion. "To what?"

"To be…" I struggled with how to phrase the words. "To be _frustrated _with me. I…I'm no use at all…and if you all have to keep helping me…sooner or later, you will all be angry and disappointed with how many times I fail." My eyes started filling with unbidden tears—yet another reason to be embarrassed. "I…don't want that, my lord. I am afraid of that."

"Oye! Pansy-Man!" A voice floated through the humming air from somewhere by Serra…a flash of green, and suddenly Della was running towards us.

"Ninian, don't be silly!" Lyn exclaimed, ignoring the flushed and out-of-breath tactician skidding to a stop before us, as if _I _were somehow more important. "Don't you know? That's what friends are _for! _They help and support you every time you fall, no matter how many times it happens. They do this happily."

"Lovingly," Eliwood added softly, holding me close against his body.

Della gave a rather evil, sagely chuckle, yet when Lyn and Eliwood and I looked her way in hopes of an explanation, she only smiled innocently and beckoned for Serra. "Oops! Should've brought water bottles today, eh?"

The cleric made her way towards us, followed closely by Sain and Kent—quite probably because the latter knight, seeing me in such a state, had only become that much more worried for his lady.

"It's _so _hot out here!" Serra complained as she reached us, holding up her staff. The sun glinted blindingly off of it. "I bet I'll have to heal a whole bunch more people for heatstroke alone…"

The glow of her staff was filling my vision; a delightful coolness crept into the air, sliding over my skin and clearing my head…so very refreshing…

"I think I can stand on my own, my lord," I murmured to Eliwood, who was still dutifully holding me in his arms.

"Let's not take the risk until you're positive, shall we?" he said back, shooting me a dashing—_unlawfully so!_—smile. I thought I could detect a hint of teasing within his deep blue eyes…or was that just a reflection, a glimmer from the pristine azure light of Serra's staff? There was so much blue…I was drowning in that color, in that light, in those…eyes…

"Uh-oh…!" a voice suddenly broke me out of my thoughts, and my eyes shifted over to make out Della through the soft glare of the healing staff.

"I think my nose is peeling," she said faintly. "Hey, Lyn…does it look red to you?"

"_HA!"_ shouted Sain triumphantly.

* * *

_A/N: Even Italians can burn, apparently...(dang marching band camp! Does it every time!)…so anyway. This moment in the game has always been a special time, for me…it was, actually, where I discovered the romance. Besides the very light KentxLyn that is SO obvious in the dialogue, I didn't think Fire Emblem had "romance" as one of its (many) sub-genres…but then Eliwood said to Ninian, "If you please, take my arm". That did it. I was like "OH", and immediately paired those two together…I personally think that's the moment that she falls in love with him, since he goes on about how he doesn't think of her as a freak (and her falling for him was what I was trying to portray in this ficlet—mixing the symptoms of lovesickness with those of heatstroke xD)…actually, I also thought: "Ninian IS different, I guess…wouldn't it be funny if she was, like, a dragon or something?" _

_xD No lie. I instantly dismissed the idea—"NAH!"—and then was later abruptly reminded of said idea when Eiwood KILLED HER. Man. That just made the whole scene worse, in that "told-ya-so" kind of way…(That's why I had to put Della in…she represents me CALLIN' IT! xD)_

_But, yeah! There we go. Reviews really make my whole day, so if you aren't too busy to drop me one, my love and gratitude would burn brighter than the desert sun…meaning it would be as bright as the sun during MARCHING BAND SEASON!_


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